Elections via ballot papers will bring back BSP's 'good days': Mayawati
Addressing a press conference here, she reiterated her demand for conducting all elections through ballot papers, alleging that EVMs were being tampered to prevent BSP candidates from winning.
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Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Warehouse planned on Wadala salt pan land to stock EVMs
MUMBAI: The state government is planning to construct a warehouse on a plot, classified as salt pan land a few decades ago but has since been lying vacant, in Wadala, to stock electronic voting machines (EVMs) issued to Mumbai city collectorate. The machines are traditionally stored in select sections of offices of the Mumbai Port Authority, Railways, and schools, among other places. The state chief electoral officer (CEO) S Chockalingam said, 'While earlier, EVMs were even stored in godowns stocking food grains, now we have decided to construct special places to store them. We have constructed similar godowns in 21 districts.' The Mumbai city district, stretching from Colaba to Mahim, has 2537 polling stations, with 6869 ballot units, 4798 control units and 4982 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, said Mumbai city deputy district election officer Shyam Surwase. The warehouse in Wadala will house the machines put to use in this stretch of south Mumbai. Surwase told HT, the size of the godown and cost to construct it are yet to be determined. The city faced a severe dearth of space to store the machines earlier, leading to election officials often complaining about the EVMs' poor performance when they get wrecked from dampness. That's the reason why it was deemed fit to allocate the land in Wadala, people in the know told HT. According to the city's development plan (DP-2034) which was inked in 2018, the proposed land parcel was reserved for rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected people, or a depot for BEST or to be left as a natural area. In 2021, the then collector of Mumbai city district and the chief electoral officer wrote to the Urban Development Department (UDD) to renegotiate the reservation of the natural area for a 3846 sq-metre plot, and facilitate it for the warehouse to store EVM and VVPAT machines. The original salt pan plot was de-reserved last week. Throwing light on the use of the warehouse, an official from the Election Commission said, 'Political parties have made it fashionable to blame EVMs at times of defeat. Earlier, Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the machines, and now Opposition parties have taken the plunge. Many leaders also file election petitions. During the last assembly elections, in Mumbai, we had to hold back EVMs of Mumbai North West Parliamentary constituency as Amol Kirtikar of Shiv Sena (UBT) lost narrowly and filed election petition. Huge space is required to stock the machines. Once each district has its own godown and proper security is put in place, the allegations of tampering will go away completely.' Plans are also afoot to replicate the process in the Mumbai suburban district (Bandra-Dahisar and Sion-Mulund). The EVMs here are stacked in a godown of Food Corporation of India, in Borivili, and the Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation, in Goregaon. A senior official in the know of things, from the suburban collectorate, said: 'We have asked for a plot next to the Mumbai city collectorate's godown at Wadala or a plot next to the veterinary college in Goregaon, owned by state animal husbandry department. The Mumbai suburban district needs a plot of at least four acres for a godown, which would cost at least ₹60 crore to build. As the budget is huge, the plan is on hold.' Thane collector Ashok Shingare said, a similar godown has been planned in Kalwa. 'We have 18 assembly segments and a large number of EVMs. We had a meeting with CEO Chokalingham recently and have asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to draw a plan,' said Shingare.
Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Polls via ballot papers will bring BSP's good days back, says Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president Mayawati on Thursday reiterated her demand for doing away with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and bringing back ballot papers for elections. 'The ballot papers will pave the way for achhe din (good days) for the BSP,' she said at a press conference in Lucknow. The four-time former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged EVMs were tampered to prevent the BSP from winning elections. In the present political situation, a decision should be taken to conduct all elections through ballot papers, she said. The majority of the opposition parties are demanding ballot papers, but it's not possible with the present government in power, she said. Asking BSP supporters not to be disheartened, she said they should work to strengthen the party organisation and increase its support base. Mayawati hit out at Azad Samaj Party (ASP) chief Chandrashekhar Azad. She said if he is concerned about the welfare and empowerment of Dalits, he should join the BSP instead of running a separate party. She accused Azad of trying to divide Dalits and weaken the BSP. 'The leaders of casteist parties like the BJP, Congress and the Samajwadi Party are supporting small political outfits to weaken the Bahujan movement. The leaders of the newly floated outfits are selfish. Even if the leaders of these outfits become MPs, MLAs or ministers for their personal gains, it will not bring any real benefit to Dalits and marginalised sections,' she said. Mayawati expressed concern over the lack of equitable participation of Bahujans in the country's GDP growth. She described 'the continuing poverty and unemployment' as a matter of concern. While the BSP is the only party working on the ideals of Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the rival parties are trying to weaken it, she said. The BSP supporters should be alert about the designs of such parties, she said, adding they are using the names of Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. 'They are also misusing my name for political advantage. They are telling people that they will fulfil the mission of Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram,' she said. On June 1, ASP chief Chandra Shekhar Azad had stated that people had rejected BSP chief national coordinator Akash Anand, who is Mayawati's nephew. 'Due to compulsions, the BSP opened its doors for him even after his expulsion. There is no option for the BSP,' Azad, the Lok Sabha MP from Nagina in west UP, had said at a press conference in Lucknow.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Elections via ballot papers will bring back BSP's ‘good days': Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati on Thursday (June 5, 2025) said her party's "good days" would return if elections are held through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Addressing a press conference here, she reiterated her demand for conducting all elections through ballot papers, alleging that EVMs were being tampered to prevent BSP candidates from winning. "Parties with casteist ideologies, both in power and in opposition, have been managing certain opportunistic and self-serving individuals from Dalit and other marginalised communities behind the scenes. These elements are being used to form various organisations and parties that are misleading our support base and dividing votes in BSP's strongholds, especially in Uttar Pradesh," she said. The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister further alleged that rival political parties were adopting various tactics to ensure that BSP's presence in national politics remains minimal. "These parties are not only creating and sustaining opportunistic outfits but are also transferring their votes to them in elections to help a few of their candidates win, thereby weakening the BSP's prospects," she claimed. "Furthermore, EVM manipulation is being used to defeat BSP candidates, in an attempt to break the trust of Dalit and marginalised voters in the BSP," Mayawati said. She said that concerns regarding EVMs are now being raised by several opposition parties, adding, "Most opposition parties, including the BSP, now want that all elections, whether big or small, should be conducted through ballot papers like in the past." "Though this might not be possible under the current government, we hope it can happen after a change in power," she said. Ms. Mayawati expressed confidence that if the electoral process shifts back to ballot papers, the BSP would regain its lost political ground and its good days will be back. She also cautioned her party workers against "self-serving and opportunistic" organisations and parties that, she claimed, have no real connection with B.R. Ambedkar, BSP founder Kanshi Ram, or the broader Bahujan movement. "Even if leaders from these groups become MPs, MLAs, or ministers for their personal gains, it will not bring any real benefit to Dalits and marginalised sections," she said. The BSP supremo also criticised the lack of equitable participation of Bahujans in the country's GDP growth and described the ongoing poverty and unemployment as a matter of concern. She alleged that the country's borders have not been fully secure for years, resulting in frequent terror incidents. On the Pahalgam terror attack, she said it was "deeply saddening and worrying" and criticised the politicisation of such incidents. "It is unfortunate that such sensitive matters are being used for political gain. This should not happen," she said.
